‘Taking a little break': Another Michelin-recommended Miami restaurant presses pause

Miami Herald

25-06-2025

One of the most anticipated Miami restaurants of 2024, the creation of a world-famous Italian chef, has announced it's closing — but only for summer, a restaurant spokesperson said.
Torno Subito, the whimsical spot from Chef Massimo Bottura on the rooftop of Julia & Henry's food hall in downtown Miami, announced via its social media account that it would be taking 'a summer pause.'
'We'll be taking a little break but la dolce vita isn't over just yet,' said a post on Instagram. 'Join us for one last rooftop evening before we close for the season.'
The restaurant, which opened last August to great fanfare and was named as a recommended restaurant in the 2025 Michelin Guide, is known for its playful approach to Italian cuisine, ensured in Miami by chef de cuisine Bernardo Paladini. The menu includes a nod to Bottura's passion project — eliminating food waste — in the pappa al pomodoro, made with day-old bread, tomato and Parmigiano Reggiano foam. Another famous dish was the signature tortellini stuffed with pork in a rich Parmigiano Reggiano sauce.
It was also a sister to Bottura's original Torno Subito at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel. That location opened in 2019 and earned a Michelin star, but closed last November, a move that inspires the question: Will the Miami restaurant really return?
Spokesperson Nidal Barake assures fans that it will.
'With summer being a naturally transitional period for many in Miami's restaurant industry, we are using this time to step back intentionally, focus on development, and prepare for an even stronger return in the winter,' he explained. 'This pause allows us to refine our operations and elevate what we do best.'
He also said the first year in Miami was 'amazing.'
'The city welcomed us with open arms, and the creative community here has inspired us all,' he said. 'We remain fully committed to Miami.'
One of the difficulties restaurants face when shutting down for a couple of months is retaining trained staff members, including cooks, servers and bussers. Barake said that some Torno Subito staff members will stay on through the summer to work on research and development, while others will continue their training at the Francescana Family properties in Italy. The team plans to retain as many as possible for the reopening, he said.
Read more: After almost 20 years, this Italian restaurant in Miami Beach has closed for good
The plan is to reopen sometime around the end of the third fiscal quarter, which means around the end of September.
'This is not a closure,' he reiterated. 'It is a reset designed to strengthen everything we have built already.'
The announcement comes at a time during which more than a few Miami restaurants that made the Michelin Guide have pressed pause, some for good. EntreNos in Miami Shores, which earned a Michelin star two years ago, closes at the end of June, while the Portuguese spot Sereia in Coconut Grove announced it was closing at the end of May.
Julia & Henry's, located at 200 E. Flagler St. in the historic Miami Walgreens building, has undergone a change as well recently. The three-story food hall, which opened in 2023, has now moved all of its vendors from the third floor, making way for Magic City Collective, a new retail experience from the team behind Magic City Flea.